17.6.16

Chef's Table at Zebra Green

Straight off the bat I want to clarify that I am not technically a "food blogger" but recently I have been expanding my horizons. I mean I do love food and I tend to take photos of a lot of my meals anyway so why not!

Last week I was invited to the Chef's table at Zebra Green, where the head chef Shane Lurie would be letting myself and a few other bloggers try some new dishes he has put together. I have never been to Zebra Green I have seen the sauce range before. It is apparently quite popular and for good reason.

To start the night off we had some drinks in the outside loft area. This is such a cute and quirky little spot and it would be great for date nights or drinks with friends. Above is the latter. This is my friend Rick who came to support my first venture into food blogging. They made a lovely white wine Sangria that I may need to enquire about the recipe for, considering I had at least four glasses of it.

The infamous sauces.

We moved inside for our starters because it was turning out to be quite a cold night. Inside had this warm family style vibe, like we were eating at a friend's house rather then a restaurant. It's so chill and low-key.

Calamari, cous cous. chorizo.

This was the first thing that came out. I must admit I may have eaten it far too quickly because I was so hungry after a long day. It was really delish though and I could have easily eaten at least ten of these little cups worth of it. I am glad I didn't though because so much more amazing food was coming out.

Corn fritters, smashed avocado, smokey apple, sweet chilli.

This was my second favourite dish of the night. I tried to savour these by eating it in two bites because it tasted so good but that just turned into a bit of a mess. This has inspired me to try and make my own corn fritters to eat with the sauce I got on the night, until the next time I can come and get these babies again.

Salmon, broth, curry.

This reminded me of Europe, my Grandma's cooking in Poland to be precise. I am really glad I got to try this sort of dish because it's not something I would usually order in a restaurant. I was so pleasantly surprised. Plus you can't argue with the added entertainment of watching your friend get too excited to eat it and end up burning their tongue. Sadistic but hilarious.

Lurie is most certainly a master of sauce. This blue cheese sauce was to die for.

Hand cut chips, triple cooked.

I couldn't figure out what made these fries so amazing and I am only now realising that they were triple cooked. It made such a difference. I've never had such delicious and crispy chunks of potato. The whole table loved them.

Sticky, smokey BBQ wings, 3 sauces.

These were without a doubt the number one aspect of this meal. I am a messy eater and usually avoid eating things like chicken wings in public even though I love wings. I can't believe what I've been missing! These wings were cooked three different ways. The table's favourite were the dark brown ones which were coated in this sticky, gooey, smokey sauce that when partnered with the blue cheese sauce made all of your problems in life melt away with each bite. The other two were various levels of spicy deliciousness which I loved. I love spicy food, especially when it's jalapeno spicy. Not wasabi though, anything but wasabi. That stuff messes me up.

Red wine - Ego bodegas Tinto (Jumilla, Spain, 2014)

Big fan of red. I probably should have given the white a try but this red had a hold of me and I couldn't let go. It wasn't until I was sway walking to the train station with Rick that I realised I probably should have had a glass or two less.

This was what I believe the best wings were coated in. I got given a bottle of it at the end and I haven't been able to stop putting it on everything.

Kipflers, peppers, olives.

After eating those amazing fries these potatoes couldn't really compare. I do like the idea of mixing the olives and peppers in though. Gave it a nice subtle flavour.

Herb crusted Junee lamb shoulder, smokey eggplant, feta and mint.

This was my preferred main over the fish. The lamb melted in your mouth while the crumbs added texture. Combine that with the fetta and mint on top and you've got a lot of good flavours happening in that mouthful. I don't remember the eggplant. I must have not picked any up when we were dishing it out. This felt like something mum would cook and because of that it tasted like home and like family.

I am never huge on fish or peas. Trying to put my personal preferences aside, I did have some and it did taste good. The skin on the fish was particularly nice and crispy but when I combined it with the peas it just wasn't right for me.

Fennel, cream & crumbed.

My mum would love this. I did not in particularly. It is though one of the better things I have tried with fennel. Although that's another personal taste thing.

Roast beets, autumn pears, feta, walnuts.

I am pretty sure I had second and third helpings of this salad, I couldn't stop it was so good. I don't usually like beetroot salad as it's often overpowered with beetroot. I know that sounds ridiculous. But this was honestly the most well proportioned beetroot salad I have ever eaten. The beetroot to salad ratio was spot on and whatever dressing they used was exceptional.

Beans, butter, garlic.

Tasted pretty nice for green beans. I mean there is only so much you can say about beans in butter and garlic. Lets be real, anything in butter and garlic is good.

This was amazing first food blogging experience and I am pretty excited to do it again soon. I took home some sauces that night but I am already nearly out of the Chipotle baste so I think I will have to go back to Zebra Green real soon. Thanks for having me Shane the food was amazing!